Im pretty sure that Im gonna buy this game, but I was just wondering if I should buy fallout 3 too. Will this game be better or worse if I never played fallout 3?

It really dosnt mather. The problem will be when you later play Fallout 3 and maybe get irritated on things new to this game that wasnt i Fallout 3.
But you dont have to play Fallout 3 to play this game.

you don't have to play it. none of the save game from fallout 3 gets carried over.

however, Fallout 3 is an awesome game. but its probably not for everyone. id say get fallout 3 first (its cheep now) to see if you like it, then get new Vegas.

New Vegas is a standalone game so it is not neccessary to play Fallout 3 first. However, you should play Fallout 3 simply because it is a great game.

in that case ill probably get both...how much is fallout 3 anyway and should i buy GOTY or regular?

GotY if you whant the DLC. If not then the standard. The DLC will cost way much more to buy seperate then GotY.
The sit down and get ready to put 100+ hours of your life in to the game.

Overall, it won't make the game better or worse any if you play Fallout 3 first. It can give you some background information you wouldn't have otherwise, and is a very enjoyable game, in my opinion. I probably spent 400+ hours in Fallout 3 exploring, killing, helping, ect, ect, and I had an absolute blast. If you were going to play both, I'd suggest playing Fallout 3 first though, just because Fallout: New Vegas will have game updates to it that Fallout 3 will not, so if you go from Fallout: New Vegasto Fallout 3, it might seem like a bit of a downgrade in some options.

Overall though, it's just up to you. It's not required, it won't to anything extra, just give you some more information about the world of Fallout. Either way, enjoy! :fallout:

I would say No.
This is the game that Fallout 3 should have been.

If you are planning to play them both then yes, only because you'll be irritated with what F3 lacks from NV, but if you just want the experience - skip F3 and just play this.
The mechanics are the same, graphics are the same, NV has more depth.

You know what my opinion is? You should play fallout 3 first (don't buy NV right now) for the simple fact fallout 3 GOTY is like, $30 cheaper and if it's your first fallout playthrough you don't have anything to compare it to. This way you get to know the controls, techniques, and just general knowledge of the game. After finishing that (assuming you're doing all or most of the quests) New vegas should have dropped in price a bit, the updates and what not are fixed, and maybe some DLC will come out by then. JUST MY OPINION. :fallout:

the two are separate and not related to each other, except that they both are a fallout tital, the graphics are mostly the same. I assume NV will have some improvements but its only the first day and to soon to say which is better. I would suggest that you get FO3 and wait to buy NV until you've gotten sick of FO3 (which could take months, or if you are me then never) and like previously stated, by time your through with FO3 there should be patches and lower prices for NV.

You cannot go wrong with FO3. It hooked me into getting NV.
Also, the time is about right to pick up the GOTY edition, it's surely way cheaper by now.

There are a few bugs, but make of 'em what you will.

:fallout:

This /\

It's a standalone game featuring a whole new character and story and world built off the original engine of Fallout 3

So playing Fallout 3 or Fallout New Vegas first makes no real difference

Skip F3.
You don't need to have played it.
Having played it won't help you at all.
You will save money.
New Vegas is already proving to be leaps and bounds better than F3.

Not really needed. They make this clear enough... but a play through of FO1 &/OR 2 would be informative... but also not really needed (I expect).

Another reason to run the GOTY before NV is that by the time you finish FO3, there will probably be dlc and a pantload of mods out for NV. And you'll be two years older so NV will tide you over while TES5 gets patched, modded, expanded etc. Then you get TES5 which will take you through until FO4 comes out. There you go, your next 8 years of gaming in four sentences.

Skip FO3, the story is worthless and it isn't a continuation of anything. NV is a standalone alternative fallout 3 that seems (so far) to be better.

No, you do not have to play FO3 before this to "embrace" the story, it's a different main character than in FO3, different location too. There is no continuation of the story either, maybe some references to it, but probably nothing significant.

Get both if you want. FO3 is very good and but has nothing really to do with New Vegas except same engines. You will probaly enjoy them both.

F03 has a myriad of DLC included in the GOTY edition and has a huge collection of mods for it, you're not going to be dissapointed purchasing it prior to NV but NV is a great game that, story wise, is absolutley detatched from the East Coast FO3.

In story terms, you'd learn more from F01/2 although i much preffer 2 (simply my opinion). That said, i acnowledge that decade old issometric games are not everyone's cup of tea.

However, they are all fallout games, they're all brilliant and no matter what you buy, you can't really make a bad choice.

Fallout: New Vegas is not a direct sequel to Fallout 3 soo no

I'd say you would be better off playing Fallout 1 and 2 then new vegas, a lot of the story elements from those games are in NV.

The most interesting parts of Fallout 3 are the back story things (war with china, the museum, Harold(well ok not Harold)) That you can pick up later, or read on a wiki or something.

You should play Fallout 1 and 2 and then play Fallout New Vegas, then if you want you can play spin-offs like Fallout Tactics or Fallout 3